3Cinteractive is proud to announce the availability of a revolutionary mobile marketing service. We are now offering our TextCard service to current and new users. What makes TextCard unique is its ability to allow users to send text messages via postcard. TextCard can be used globally on any network: EDGE, 3G, PCS, GSM, CDMA, YMCA, anywhere at anytime. Our TextCard service only costs $0.27 in the United States. Just imagine, only $0.27 to send a text message via postcard to anyone in the 50 states (international postcards may cost more; check with your post office for further details).

Example 1: TextCard in action

How does this work? It’s simple. Just send a postcard to your friend or family member and he or she will take the card to their local office supply store to be scanned. The office supply retailer will then convert the scanned postcard into text and then email the message to your friend’s online email account (personal or business will do). Once that step is complete, all your friend needs to do is to forward that email to their mobile device and then HEY PRESTO! They receive your text.

Not only can you reach out and text someone by postcard anywhere in the world with our TextCard service, you can also reach out across time. Have a text you want to send from over 100 years ago? It’s no problem with TextCard. Just mail, scan, upload, email, and you’re texting!

Example 2: TextCard breaking the laws of relativity

(International rates differ depending on the country you are posting to. Charges for scanning and converting also apply. Additional fees for gas, connectivity, and the receiving incoming emails on your mobile device may also apply. Your mileage may vary. Void where prohibited. Ability to time travel not guaranteed. If you believe this, we also have a lovely bridge in New York we’d like to sell you.)

The Las Vegas Tourism Bureau’s slogan of, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” isn’t going to apply to the CTIA Wireless event. The CTIA is coming to Vegas and so is 3Cinteractive and we’re telling (almost) everything). Want to find out what we know? Then you should text “3CTIA” to 59495 to schedule a meet-up with us.

3Ci is at this week’s show along with other industry leaders from across mobile marketing, among them Microsoft, T-Mobile, and Research in Motion, all of which are taking the keynote stage to talk about “Mobile Life”.

Also attending will be former US Vice President Al Gore, who will be talking to the attendees about conservation and social responsibility within the tech community (by the way, since we’ve mentioned the Honorable Al Gore, did you know that mobilizing coupons and palm card offers is a great way to go green? Yes, not only can we extend your marketing reach, we help reduce litter).

Besides going green, you might want to check out the latest innovations in the mobile marketing sector, including our SwitchBlade™ interactivity platform, our ShoutBox™ interactive mobile application, as well as how you can become more efficient during the downturn, the present economic climate, or, let’s face it, the recession we’re in.

But don’t just take our word for it. Mike Wehrs, president of the Mobile Marketing Association (who is taking part in the conference), has said that more innovative mobile marketing campaigns could potentially make 2010 a “breakthrough” year for the sector.

The “Hooters Calendar Girl of the Year” contest from Hooters of America, Inc., powered by 3Cinteractive, gave Hooters fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite Hooters Calendar Girl. 3Ci created approximately 160 unique keywords that were issued to Hooters Girls in the calendar. These keywords were found on the on pocket calendars distributed with the Hooters Girls’ Calendar and contained the keyword, which restaurant patrons would use to vote for their favorite Calendar Girl. Each vote counted towards the naming of one of the Hooters Girls featured in the 2009 Hooters Calendar as “2009 Hooters Calendar Girl of the Year”.

Participants in the campaign were eligible to receive a free wallpaper of the Hooters Girl they voted for as well as a subscription to exclusive alerts. While only one vote per mobile number is allowed, some of the Hooters calendar girls have generated over 200 unique votes in just two weeks, demonstrating not only the restaurant’s popularity but also the ease of use of mobile marketing.

It’s no secret that the most effective marketing campaigns are the ones that are viral in nature. Viral campaigns, viral marketing, these trigger immediate interaction from the consumer in the way of purchases. With the cost of direct mail and the over-crowding on the Internet, what is the best way to trigger interest in your brand? By using mobile marketing to be aggressive.

While the method of delivery has changed over the years, one thing has remained constant: everyone loves to get something for nothing. From the drop-ins at a client where you deliver the nice pens with your name on it to the sleek black laptop bag with the four-color logo at a tradeshow, we love free things. So why not leverage this feel-good tactic using mobile?

Mobile marketing is a quick way to generate the buzz needed for something to go viral. Mobile couponing via SMS is a way in which you can get people talking about your brand and you can differentiate yourself from competitors in your space. Regardless of whether or not you are the established player or the upstart, being aggressive with a mobile marketing campaign can offer you a way to acquire new customers and to retain those customers.

So where does the free component come in? If you are a retailer, it can be a BOGO (buy-one-get-one) with a coupon only obtainable via SMS or a GWP (Gift-With-Purchase) or even PWP (Purchase-With-Purchase) text offer. It can even be a free item in the case of a restaurant – one free soda with purchase, or even just one free soda, no strings attached (other than a consumer opt-in). The free element is what will help take the mobile marketing campaign viral: since the motto, “If it’s free, it’s for me” is universal, people are certain to forward these texts to their friends and family, who will then share it with their friends and family.

You can use the database you generate in order to reach out to those opt-in consumers with daily or weekly offers, deals that, in turn, the consumer will forward to their contacts. With the recession, consumers have limited dollars to spend and they are more likely to spend their money where the deals are. Aggressively using mobile to make such consumers brand aware and deal conscious is a way to offer value, go viral, and to build your mobile database all in one campaign.

The past few months have seemed to be nothing short of disastrous for mobile marketing.  The economic downturn that led to the current recession is certainly not friendly to the market outlook, let alone to falling advertising revenues and a decrease in handset sales.  The recent GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona served as a showcase of how simple and elegant a mobile marketing solution can be.

Mobile marketing in this downturn makes sense when you consider the idea of more people having access to mobile phones than they do to the Internet. Yes, the rallying cry for mobile dominance over the PC has been sounded for years, but we are seeing the proof of concept.  Marketing campaigns utilizing SMS can reach more people than a banner ad or a PPC ad accessible via a PC.

You also have the added comfort of knowledge in that consumers elect to receive or opt-in to get your marketing message on their mobile device.  This extensive, qualified reach (as well as the lack of a prevailing, incumbent player) has attracted the interests of Nokia, Google and Yahoo.  Mobile marketing may still only be a small part of most marketing budgets, but it is growing in influence and is proving itself with value and results.  Mobile may prove to be the one marketing medium that flourishes in the downturn.

Over a 6 week promotional campaign, Cricket Wireless will drive consumers to the Cricket website to increase their subscriber base.  Each week listeners will be given a different keyword to text in to win one of many grand prizes including cell phones, prize packages and gift cards. The consumer will then immediately receive a text message back informing them if they are an instant winner.  Even participants who are not instant winners will still be directed to the Cricket website to download free digital content and be entered to win one of the grand prizes.

3Cinteractive is providing complete technology fulfillment for the promotion including website integration, the mobile application, registering winners, and redemption tools. “3Ci’s comprehensive involvement in the campaign allows Cricket to focus on their clients and branding,” says Mark Smith, 3Ci’s COO. “It was really exciting to  work on such an extensive project where we not only designed the mobile application, but also the web component of the promotion.”

Global advertising agency McCann Erickson has teamed up with 3Cinteractive to launch a mobile marketing campaign for the US Army.  The campaign, which targets high school and college students, will help the Army identify potential recruits and converse with those interested in serving the Army.  The mobile program will provide information on their 40k scholarship, skills and training, and other benefits of joining the Army.

Students will see the call to action in their school newspapers prompting them to text a keyword to be entered for the chance to win a Nintendo Wii and receive information about the benefits of joining the Army. In order to be entered in the contest, they will be required to respond via SMS with their name and birth date.  To help the ARMY compile a list of interested people, 3Ci will post the information received from the text messages to the Army’s recruitment database.

“For the US Army’s target demographic, there is no better way to create a conversation than by using SMS,” said Chris Field.  “We feel that this mobile campaign will increase the effectiveness of the Army’s advertising strategy and will ultimately generate an interest in a career in the US Army.”

- Karly